NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CBS (NYSE: CBS.A, CBS) and Viacom (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA) today announced additional senior appointments for ViacomCBS’ corporate leadership. These appointments, which will be effective upon closing, will align key functions and operations to support ViacomCBS’ divisions and lines of business as the combined company pursues its differentiated growth strategy.

“Our team of highly accomplished corporate leaders will draw on their deep experience and expertise to help drive ViacomCBS’ success,” said Bob Bakish, President and Chief Executive Officer, Viacom, who will serve as President and Chief Executive Officer of ViacomCBS upon close. “They will identify strategic opportunities to grow and transform our businesses and ensure that we are fostering a dynamic, inclusive culture where our employees are empowered to succeed.”

Bakish continued, “With today’s appointments, we now have in place the entire senior management team for ViacomCBS, ensuring we will hit the ground running when the transaction closes in just a few weeks. Working together, these leaders will help us realize the full potential of our considerable assets and competitive strengths.”

The ViacomCBS corporate leaders being announced today include:

• Alex Berkett, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development & Strategy, Viacom, will become Executive Vice President, Corporate Development and Strategy, leading ViacomCBS’ efforts to identify, pursue and execute strategic growth opportunities, including acquisitions, partnerships, investments and joint ventures, across all of ViacomCBS’ businesses and geographies.

• Nancy Phillips will serve as Executive Vice President, Chief People Officer. As the leader of ViacomCBS’ global human resources organization, she will be responsible for driving the company’s human resources strategy and delivering global programs to create a positive employee experience and a culture of high performance. In this role, she will have oversight of the company’s HR business partners, talent acquisition, organizational effectiveness, learning and development, total rewards, people analytics and HR operations. She will also oversee global security. Phillips joins the company from Nielsen, where she served as Chief Human Resources Officer.

• Marva Smalls, Executive Vice President, Global Head of Inclusion Strategy, Viacom, will serve as Executive Vice President, Global Head of Inclusion of ViacomCBS, driving initiatives and fostering partnerships that promote and advance diversity and inclusion for ViacomCBS enterprise-wide both with internal and external stakeholders globally. In addition, she will retain her public affairs responsibilities for Nickelodeon as Executive Vice President, Public Affairs, Kids & Family Entertainment Brands, ViacomCBS Media Networks.

• Jose Tolosa, Chief Transformation Officer of Viacom, will expand his responsibilities as Executive Vice President, Chief Transformation Officer. In this role, he will continue to oversee integration efforts for the combined company, with a focus on accelerating the evolution of its businesses. Tolosa will also lead ViacomCBS Strategic Planning, helping to set the company’s strategic priorities and support cross-company projects for senior management. Additionally, he will oversee the Global Business Services and Global Sourcing divisions, which will expand their scope, providing enterprise-wide services and helping drive synergies.

These corporate leadership announcements follow the previously announced appointments of Christa D’Alimonte as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary; Anthony DiClemente as Executive Vice President, Investor Relations; DeDe Lea as Executive Vice President, Global Public Policy and Government Relations; Julia Phelps as Executive Vice President, Chief Communications and Corporate Marketing Officer, and Christina Spade as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer.

The merger of Viacom and CBS remains subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close by early December.

Biographies

• Alex Berkett joined Viacom in August 2015 and most recently served as Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategy, leading the company’s global activities related to strategy, corporate development and mergers and acquisitions. In this role, he worked closely with senior executives across the company to advise on and lead transaction negotiations. Prior to joining Viacom, Berkett served as Co-Founder and Executive Vice President of Townsquare Media where he was responsible for corporate development, mergers and acquisitions, all capital raising activities, legal affairs, investor relations, business development and corporate communications. Berkett co-founded Townsquare in 2010 with his partners from FiveWire Media, an investment firm he co-founded. In 2009, he joined FiveWire from J.P. Morgan’s Technology, Media & Telecom Investment Banking Group, which he joined following the firm’s acquisition of Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. in 2008. Berkett spent 11 years at Bear Stearns, principally focused on media and technology mergers and acquisitions, ultimately rising to the level of Managing Director.

• Nancy Phillips has served as the Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer at Nielsen since 2017, while also serving on the Nielsen Foundation’s Board of Directors. Under her leadership, Nielsen was recognized for many awards including #2 on Forbes’ Employers for Diversity list and multiple Great Place to Work awards globally. Prior to joining Nielsen, she was Chief Human Resources Officer of Broadcom prior to its sale to Avago Technologies, the largest technology deal in history at that time. Before that, she led the HR organization for Hewlett Packard’s Imaging and Printing Group as well as the Enterprise Services business group, a global organization with more than 120,000 employees. Prior to HP, Phillips served as Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer for Fifth Third Bancorp, a diversified financial services company with $133 billion in assets. Earlier in her career, she spent 11 years with the General Electric Company serving in a variety of HR leadership roles. Phillips is active in a range of professional associations, and in 2006 she received a YWCA TWIN (Tribute to Women) award in Silicon Valley for her commitment to diversity. She is also a member of The Florida Bar beginning her career as an attorney. Phillips earned a B.A. in English from the University of Delaware and a J.D. from Samford University in Birmingham, Al.

• Marva Smalls is the Global Head of Inclusion Strategy at Viacom and Executive Vice President, Public Affairs & Chief of Staff at Nickelodeon. Smalls has more than three decades of leadership experience in the public and private sectors and is widely recognized as one of the most influential leaders in media. As Global Head of Inclusion Strategy, Smalls reports directly to Viacom’s CEO to drive Diversity & Inclusion worldwide. Her role includes implementing strategic initiatives that support innovation and business results, while creating the next generation of leaders. She has established Viacom’s Employee Resource Groups globally and has expanded key partnerships in international markets. At Nickelodeon, Smalls collaborates closely with the President in managing day-to-day operations, as well as overseeing all corporate responsibility initiatives and relationships with external advocates and regulators. Under her leadership, Nickelodeon has implemented award-winning pro-social campaigns. Smalls is a founding member of the Black Economic Alliance and serves on numerous boards including the American Theatre Wing, the International African American Museum, the James Beard Foundation, and Synovus Bank/South Carolina. Smalls holds graduate and undergraduate degrees from the University of South Carolina, where she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities.

• Jose Tolosa has served as the Chief Transformation Officer of Viacom since November 2017. In this role, he guides the company’s transformation agenda, overseeing a team responsible for developing and executing initiatives to support and accelerate the evolution of Viacom’s media business and grow its consumer products, recreation and events businesses. Tolosa previously served as Chief Operating Officer of Viacom International Media Networks since 2015, leading the company’s international, pay-TV growth strategy and its expansion of VIMN content across multiple viewing platforms. In addition to his role as COO, Tolosa served as Executive Vice President, Global Strategy, Viacom Media Networks, leading a divisional team in developing a unified global strategic path for all of Viacom’s teen- and adult-oriented brands. Prior to this, Tolosa was Executive Vice President, Strategy, Business Development and Operations for VIMN since 2013, and Senior Vice President, Strategy and Business Development from 2009. In his 12-year career at Viacom, Tolosa has also acted in a number of pan-regional business development and strategy responsibilities in Latin America, Japan and India. Prior to joining Viacom, he was co-founder and COO at the HNMA Funding Company and held roles at The Parthenon Group, Bear Stearns & Co., Inc. and Claxson Interactive Group. Tolosa holds a B.S. in Finance and Accounting from Georgetown University and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.

About CBS

CBS Corporation (NYSE:CBS.A)(NYSE:CBS) is a mass media company that creates and distributes industry-leading content across a variety of platforms to audiences around the world. The Company has businesses with origins that date back to the dawn of the broadcasting age as well as new ventures that operate on the leading edge of media. CBS owns the most-watched television network in the U.S. and one of the world’s largest libraries of entertainment content, making its brand –"the Eye” – one of the most-recognized in business. The Company’s operations span virtually every field of media and entertainment, including cable, publishing, local TV, film and interactive. CBS’ businesses include CBS Television Network, The CW (a joint venture between CBS Corporation and Warner Bros. Entertainment), Network 10 Australia, CBS Television Studios, CBS Global Distribution Group, CBS Consumer Products, CBS Home Entertainment, CBS Interactive, CBS All Access, the Company’s direct-to-consumer digital streaming subscription service, CBS Sports Network, CBS Films, Showtime Networks, Pop, Smithsonian Networks, Simon & Schuster, CBS Television Stations and CBS Experiences. For more information, go to http://www.cbscorporation.com.

About Viacom

Viacom (NASDAQ:VIAB)(NASDAQ:VIA) creates entertainment experiences that drive conversation and culture around the world. Through television, film, digital media, live events, merchandise and solutions, its brands connect with diverse, young and young at heart audiences in more than 180 countries.